Singapore, 27 March 2009 – The National Environment Agency (NEA) gives recognition to Anchorpoint and Liang Court as the first two Energy Smart Retail Malls in Singapore, after the two malls implemented energy savings measures to achieve better energy efficiency and lower operating costs.

Anchorpoint, for instance, has tapped on NEA’s Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe) to undergo an energy audit. Despite spending $455,000 to retrofit its chiller system, the mall is now able to reduce its annual electricity consumption by about 1,192 mega-watt-hours (MWh) and reap annual saving of $250,000. This is equivalent to a reduction of about 610 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

Liang Court has also reduced its electricity consumption by 500MWh per year, which translates to cost savings of some $100,000 per year, after improving the energy efficiency of its chiller plant.

Designed to promote good energy management practices among mall operators, the Energy Smart Retail Mall label recognizes the top 25 percent of participating shopping malls that have achieved exemplary energy efficiency and good indoor environmental quality.

The Energy Smart Retail Mall label is an extension of the Energy Smart Building Labelling Programme, which until now comprised the Energy Smart Office and Energy Smart Hotel labels.

Energy Smart Building Labelling Programme

Launched in 2005, the Energy Smart Building Labelling Programme is jointly developed by NEA and the Energy Sustainability Unit (ESU) of the National University of Singapore. This programme gives recognition to best performing buildings which have incorporated energy efficient technologies and reduced energy wastage.

“The Energy Smart Building Labelling Programme is aimed at encouraging more building managers to make their facilities energy efficient, as commercial and institutional buildings account for about 15% of Singapore's total greenhouse gas emissions, mainly through electricity consumption. By encouraging building managers to continuously improve the energy efficiency of their facilities, this programme contributes to our efforts to build an energy efficient Singapore”, said Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive Officer of NEA.

Physical features, operational characteristics and energy use data are among the key factors taken into consideration when assessing a building for the label. Indicators include the performance of the air-conditioning plant, lighting and mechanical ventilation system, as well as the energy use intensity of the building. The energy use intensity measures the building’s annual energy consumption per unit floor area.

To participate in the programme, retail malls and buildings can engage accredited energy services companies (ESCO) to conduct energy audits of their buildings. NEA co-funds up to 50% of the cost of an energy audit under its EASe scheme. This will help to defray part of the cost of conducting detailed studies on the energy consumption of the building, and to help identify specific areas for energy efficiency improvements.

Other buildings that have been recognized as Energy Smart are:

Energy Smart Offices

1. TripleOne Somerset* (Formerly known as Singapore Power Building)
2. Central Provident Fund Building*
3. Tourism Court*
4. Ministry of Manpower Building*
5. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building
6. Ministry of Education Building
7. Environment Building
8. Defence Science and Technology Agency (Tower A)
9. National Library Board Building
10. The Treasury
11. Hewlett-Packard Sales Building

Energy Smart Hotels

1. Holiday Inn Park View*
2. Intercontinental Singapore
3. Changi Village Hotel
4. The Regent Singapore
5. Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

*New recipients

For more information on the Energy Smart Building Labelling Programme, visit http://www.e2singapore.gov.sg/buildings/energysmart-building-label.html

~~ End ~~

For more information, please contact

Call Centre: 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632)
Email: Contact_NEA@nea.gov.sg